Damage documented throughout county

Rivers have crested, but some roads still under water

Rivers have crested, but some roads still under water

July 01, 2007|By Russ Keen, American News Writer

In Brown County towns other than Aberdeen, floodwaters have destroyed seven buildings and severely damaged 23. That's the damage documented so far at the county's Emergency Operations Center; the list is not necessarily complete. Another 186 structures have sustained various degrees of damage less than severe in Brown County towns other than Aberdeen. These numbers do not include damage outside of towns. No numbers for Aberdeen have been released. Floodwaters continued to recede slightly in several Aberdeen-area tributaries on Thursday. Moccasin Creek and Foote Creek went down, and the James River crested at all official checkpoints on Wednesday or Thursday, the National Weather Service reported. Even so, floodwaters still plague some roads in Brown County. Ambulance services and the U.S. Postal Service would like maps of where roads are flooded. But it's impossible to put in print because waters shift from day to day, said Dirk Rogers, county highway superintendent. Roads go under in new places and reappear in others, he said. Rogers intends to keep the post office and emergency services posted as the situation changes. Even in Aberdeen, where most streets are now dry, floodwaters still lurk in the storm sewers and in the vast amounts of water pooled just north of the city on the north side of Fairgrounds Road, said City Engineer Robin Bobzien. His top priority on Thursday was to figure out how to lower that water, he said. If more rain were to arrive with all that water still standing north of the city, the risk of additional flooding in the city would be greater, he said. There's a 30-percent chance of rain in the Aberdeen area on Saturday and Saturday night, according to the weather service. Some of the still-menacing floodwaters can't be seen. Parts of the city's underground storm sewer system are still full of water, which makes it difficult to check manholes for damage, Bobzien said. Bricks from the walls of some of the city's oldest manholes are flowing into the wastewater treatment plant south of town. That could mean some manhole walls are crumbling, Bobzien said, or it could mean bricks that fell off years ago are now being washed to the treatment plant because of the force of the water in the sewer system. Areas of town hit hardest by flooding have modern manholes without brick walls. Brick-lined holes are few and in the older parts of town, Bobzien said. City crews won't be able to check for manhole damage until water levels decrease in the storm-sewer system, he said. Flowage to the wastewater treatment plant is gradually decreasing, but still above normal, Bobzien said. Residents are asked to continue to conserve water. The state has examined area dams and concluded they are not in danger of breaching, said Scott Meints, the county's director of emergency management. Cleanup overwhelming: The piles of flood-damaged refuse placed curbside in Aberdeen grows by the hour, said Stuart Nelson, assistant city engineer. “It's getting to be a huge deal,” he said. “I don't know how we are going to get our arms around it.” The most pressing need is for more trucks, Nelson said. Members of the South Dakota National Guard can stay to help as long as they are needed, but Guard trucks are not conducive to picking up refuse, he said. About 600 tons have been removed so far, Nelson said. The tonnage includes curbside pickup and damaged goods taken to the county collection site north of the county fairgrounds. For perspective, a full-grown male African elephant weighs from 5.5 to 7 tons. The fairgrounds site is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. Residents may take their refuse directly to the county landfill, which will be open from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday in addition to its normal hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The decision to open on Sunday applies - so far - to May 13 only. Some residents place items at curbside that are obviously not flood-damaged, Nelson said. And some people who are not flood victims call to request volunteers to help remove items from their basements. Some of these people claim the items are flood-damaged even though they clearly are not, said leaders of volunteer efforts. Volunteers are told not to assist if it's obvious the request is illegitimate.